1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a beverage dispensing apparatus. More particularly, the invention concerns a novel apparatus and method for preparing and dispensing whipped beverages.
2. Background Art
Many types of restaurants offer a variety of soft drinks with their meal services. The soft drinks typically comprise a combination of syrup and carbonated or tap water. Certain types of soft drinks are dispensed in a whipped condition. In the past art, the whipping step was typically accomplished using mechanical whipping means such as one or more propeller like blades which are rotated at a relatively high rate of speed to whip the mixture of syrup and water. Exemplary of this type of apparatus is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,401 issued to Fox et al.
The rotating blade type of whipping apparatus is undesirable for several reasons. In the first place, if the mechanical portions of the apparatus are not continuously cleaned, the apparatus may jam and fail. Additionally, the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) makes mandatory at least daily cleaning of the prior art whipping apparatus and such cleaning is costly and time consuming. Further, the prior art mechanical mixing devices are typically quite expensive, are somewhat unreliable and generally require continual maintenance. During washing and maintenance, the apparatus is, of course, out of service and cannot be used to accomplish beverage dispensing thus causing costly downtime.
Another prior art beverage whipping apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,269 issued to the present inventor. That apparatus produces and dispenses whipped soft drinks, such as hot chocolate and like beverages. More particularly, the apparatus efficiently accomplishes the whipping and mixing step by directing a collimated stream of water toward an intersection point within a vented mixing chamber to which a stream of syrup is also directed.
Conventionally, prior art beverage dispensers leave certain problems unsolved. For example, the formation of foam may occur during intermixing. As a result, thorough intermixing of the ingredients may not occur. For example, a whipped drink is generally more viscous than a non-whipped drink. In whipped drinks, restrictions to the flow of syrup tend to impede efficient intermixing with water. Ultimately, complete intermixing may not occur until the syrup and the water are received in the bottom of a cup, often with the undesirable consequence of splashing.